It's Hard to Open Up
by MM1232
Summary: Zombie Apocalypse AU without super powers. Natasha has just lost her partner and previous camp. She stumbles upon a new one and is welcomed cautiously. Romanogers.
1. Chapter 1

Natasha woke with a raging headache. The ground around her a fading grey as ash fell from the sky like soft snow. Grabbing her head and lifting herself from the ground she began to process her surroundings, taking in the damage and regaining her focus.

"Clint?" she yelled, calling out for the last remaining member of her group.

She lost sight of him shortly before the explosion. The plan was to place bombs around the abandoned shelter and blow it up, targeting the zombies inside, and to regroup afterwards. But in her haste to escape, Natasha got her foot caught between two steel pipes running across the ground, and was then brutally thrown from the wreckage.

"Clint!?" She tries again, desperation trapped in her throat.

They had been separated from their group only a few days ago, half the team had gone on a supplies run and while they were away, a dozen zombies hit their camp and attacked the other remaining five members, forcing her and Clint on the run in order to get away.

Natasha made her way across the collapsed structure and climbed over some of the exploded cement, searching anxiously for Clint. She couldn't bear to think he didn't make it out. He had to be alright. Clint had been her partner for years. About twelve years ago during a mission in Saratov, Russia, Clint had been sent to kill her, as her infamous skills as an extremely well-trained assassin made her a target for the CIA.

For reasons she has yet to fully understand, he spared her life. Instead of following orders he saw something in her and saved her life, recruiting her instead to work for the good guys. She was still trying to repay her life-debt to him. And dammit if his idiocy today made that impossible.

Right as dread began to weigh her down like lead in her stomach, she heard a soft groan from her right. Pulling her gun out in automatic defense, she jumped quickly over the cement brick blocking her path.

"Natasha."

"Clint" she breathed out, jumping down to where he lay across the ground. "You're alright." She quickly reached down to prop him up into a sitting position.

"I'm not so sure" he wavered as he grabbed his waist with a heavy wince.

Natasha glanced at him in worry, her eyes widening at the sight of blood running rapidly from the wound on his side.

"No you're fine. Come on, we just need to put some pressure on it."

"Nat," Clint gasps through quick and shaky breaths. "It wasn't just the explosion. I was slowed down…ambushed by a few undead….one got me…on my leg….even if the brick didn't hit me…I won't make it much longer..."

Natasha could feel her heart stop with understanding. "Clint. Don't do this to me now. Stop talking, we'll figure this out." This couldn't be happening. Clint had stuck with her through it all, he was her rock, her pillar of strength.

 _"_ _Natasha."_ Natasha's head snapped up from where she was trying desperately to stop the bleeding. Her face frozen in an unusual expression of concern. "I'm not going to make it. You need to make sure that I can't hurt anyone."

"Don't ask me to do that." Natasha's stony voice released an almost unnoticeable quiver, "I'm not going to kill you. I owe you, I'm going to save your life."

"You can't. It's too late. You don't owe me anything, you've more than repaid any debt."

A tear slipped down Natasha's cheek, leaving a cold trail as it chilled against the wind. She wasn't ready for this. She grasped his hands in hers, trying to hold on.

"I'll wait then," she resigned.

Clint's breathing had slowed, the injury drastically starting to take its toll.

Natasha waited in silence, mentally steeling herself as she watched the eyes of her mentor empty and his chest stop moving. After waiting a few extra minutes, Natasha retracted her hands from his and rose quickly, anxious to turn away from the day's events.

Pushing through the pain of her headache and now stiff muscles, Natasha began her trek through the woods surrounding the shelter, making haste to stay ahead of the impending darkness.

As night approached she stumbled slowly through the thick trees and bushes that filled the dense forest. Natasha knew that she needed to find a good spot to rest for the night away from danger, maybe a small cave in the rocky cliffs or high in a tree. Anywhere to escape the clutches of the terrorizing monsters.

No sooner had Natasha started to look for a spot that she heard a rustling from a few yards away. In a fierce stance and ready to fight, Natasha lifted her gun, ready to face her attacker.

Instead of the dreaded undead that she feared would jump out, she was greeted by the serious faces of a young man and woman, dressed in black pants and similar blue tops.

"You been out here long?" Asked the man, his deep voice laced with skepticism as he regarded her. The woman beside him made a motion to reach for her gun holstered in her jeans, anxiously prepared for any danger.

"I'm not here to cause trouble, if that's what you're asking." Natasha spoke through a tight smirk, her exhaustion from today weighed down on her and seeped through her tone. "I'm just looking for a place to rest for tonight. Safely. Do you know of anything nearby?"

The woman turned to look at her dark haired partner, his jaw tensing slightly before he gave the slightest of nods.

"We'll take you back to our camp where you can plead your case with our director. He might let you spend the night to escape danger. As long as we can be certain that you pose no threat." He stared at her with cautious eyes. "I'm Sam Wilson, this is Maria Hill. We're guards of a sort for our camp."

Natasha matched their tone, "I'm Natasha Romanoff, thank you both for your kindness."

"It's the right thing to do," replied Maria, "follow us."

She followed Maria and Sam back to their camp through the trees in which they had exited. After a good ten minute walk they neared what she assumed to be an expansive piece of land, surrounded by a fifteen foot barbed wire electric fence, in front of a sturdy brick wall.

"Good security system you got here," Natasha noted.

"Well, now's not a time to slack off," Sam agreed. "And yes, that is an electric fence," he smirked.

Natasha almost rolled her eyes at his obvious pride. But she had to admit that she was impressed by their extensive fencing and the safety it provided.

Sam approached a darker portion of the brick fence and she watched as he pulled out a brick from the middle of the area. He stuck he hand through and before she could consider what he was doing, a ringing bell sounded and she watched as what resembled a sewage drain lid opened from beside her. Both Maria and Sam climbed in, introducing its use as a tunnel; a way into the camp.

Natasha followed closely behind and down the steps until she found herself in a tight corridor. They walked through the damp tunnel until they approached a faint light shining down on a ladder, which they climbed up, allowing them to enter the campgrounds through another tunnel entrance.

Sam and Maria led her quickly through an area that seemed almost like a tiny market. Small stands lined the pathway and contained different foods as well as medical supplies.

"This is our main commons," said Sam. "It provides the community with basic goods. We have teams that go on runs each week to hunt or locate facilities nearby in order to obtain more of what we have. Sometimes they're gone for days in order to scope out more areas. But it's proven to be a pretty efficient system so far."

Natasha was really impressed at this point by the community they seem to have built. With a heavy chest she thought of the camp that she had Clint had both been a part of before, its residence next to a river which had acted as their biggest resource.

"I'll take you to Nick now, he's our director," said Maria, motioning away from Sam, who had dismissed himself to help a campmate in need. Natasha nodded in response, eyes scanning the rows of makeshift houses and tents before nearing a much larger and sturdier log cabin at the end of the dirt road.

Maria led her inside and gestured for Natasha to sit on an old couch near the door. Maria left the room but soon returned with a taller man wearing an eye patch.

"I'm Nicholas Fury. But most people here just call me Fury. It's my understanding that you need a place to rest tonight?"

Natasha nodded.

"You're welcome to stay here. However, if you've nowhere else to be and are interested in a more permanent situation, we can review the rules tomorrow. We're not ones to reject those in need. For now, Maria will show you to an available tent on the west side. Breakfast is at 7:00 if you want to eat. The dining area is set up along the main commons."

"Thank you." Said Natasha. "I don't know if I'll be staying long, but I appreciate the offer."

"Of course. If you are interested in staying though, we should discuss your skillset for possible jobs. Everybody's got to work around here," Fury responded before dismissing both her and Maria and heading back down the hallway.

"He's not one for socializing," Maria explained, "Follow me," she said as she led Natasha outside and down the path to the right.

Suddenly Natasha heard the sound of the bells that had gone off when she entered the camp, bells that came from the main entrance near the brick wall. Natasha watched as Maria tensed.

"They're back. I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me, I have to help hand out supplies," she rushed out, turning on her heel and running in the direction of the noise, ready to greet the faces that entered through the tunnel. Natasha followed at a safe distance, eager to see what was causing all the commotion.

Natasha watched as a man with brown hair and a stern expression climbed out from the pipe, before turning around and offering his hand to the man exiting behind him.

A broad man with blonde hair and blue eyes came from the tunnel with a tired slouch of his shoulders, carrying a bag that must have been used to hold supplies. He pulled the bag from his shoulder and started to hand things out to the crowd of approaching camp members, returning the smiles of those he greeted.

Natasha couldn't help but notice how the soft upturn of his lips brightened his eyes and added to an overall look of innocence. His genuine compassion for the people he helped was a startling rarity. In her line of business, Natasha wasn't used to seeing such goodness. However, there was a weariness to his stance, a careful posture, but who wasn't defensive given recent events?

This man was a fighter, and she couldn't explain the breath that quickly caught in her throat as his eyes shifted to meet hers.

Maria noticed the direction of the man's glance and spoke up, "This is Natasha Romanoff. We found her outside of the camp in need of a place to rest and she's been granted permission to stay as long as necessary."

Maria turned back to the men to continue introductions, "This is Steve Rogers and James Barnes, two of the men behind our supply runs." She gestured to the blonde man and his partner.

The man named Steve approached her with a small smile and reached out his hand to shake hers. His warm blue eyes met her guarded green ones, "Pleasure to meet you ma'am. Welcome to our camp."


	2. Chapter 2

After her introduction to Steve Rogers and James Barnes, Natasha found herself drifting into a more active role in the camp. What she assumed would only be a temporary visit stretched into a week and before she knew it, she was talking to Fury about how she could be of use during a longer stay.

In order to show her experience, she reluctantly told him of her previous training in Russia and then her recruitment into the CIA. Fury was easily impressed by her history and combat knowledge, placing her as another guard for the camp, giving her Sam's shifts with Maria in the afternoon while Sam took on the morning guard duty with Thor.

Natasha soon struck up a surprisingly easy working relationship with Maria Hill, whose subtle dry humor matched her own in the silence of their watches. Natasha tended to keep to herself for the first few days as their watch shifts were from early afternoon to the late evening. Not that Natasha didn't mind the simple living, she just wasn't one for intentionally socializing. She didn't feel the need to bare her soul to the people that she interacted with. And frankly, her past wasn't any of their business, and right now, her only goal was to survive.

Maria seemed to understand this, just another reason why she quickly became someone Natasha could tolerate. But Natasha was still wary, as now wasn't a time to make friends.

At lunch on her fourth day, Natasha was discussing new combat strategies with Maria when Sam came up to get Maria's attention, asking about new structural ideas for their weaponry storage. Maria left to finfish talking to Sam, throwing an apologetic look over her shoulder. Natasha dismissed her with a quick shrug and a knowing smile.

Natasha looked down to continue eating, only to be interrupted by Steve Rogers and James Barnes sitting down across from her on Maria's vacated bench seat.

Steve bashfully broke the silence with a gentle smile, "I hope you don't mind us sitting here. It was the only table close enough to the fruit bar. Bucky sure does love his afternoon plums," chuckled Steve.

"Bucky?" Natasha asked, trying to hide her slight discomfort at being approached. "Clearly there's a story behind that nickname."

Bucky laughed, "Not really, Steve and I have actually known each other for years. We grew up together in Brooklyn. Bucky just stands for my middle name, Buchanan."

"That's a mouthful," Natasha joked.

"You should've heard his mom get angry at him. She always used the full name," Steve contributed.

Bucky laughed at that and Natasha could instantly feel the years of friendship and the partnership between them. It made her miss Clint, he was her best friend and practically her brother.

Steve must have noticed something had changed in her as his mouth turned up with his next question to change the subject, "So how are the watches going so far? Fury told us you're bound to be a beneficial asset."

Natasha couldn't help but smirk with pride, "They're good, I haven't needed to fight anything yet thankfully."

Bucky spoke up "I used to be on the watch duty, I know how exhausting it can be on a bad day, trust me, you won't be dormant for long."

With that Steve added, "Hey, being the new guy here can be rough, Bucky and I would love to show you around if you want that."

She watched as Bucky nudged Steve lightly in the elbow with a laugh.

"What?" Shot back Steve.

"Nothing. Come one man, let's leave the lady alone. Let her eat her lunch first."

Steve blushed at thins, dipping his head down. "Sorry, I'll let you finish first. Then we'd love to introduce you to everyone."

Natasha couldn't help but chuckle internally at his obvious shyness. No man had acted this way around her in years.

"I'm pretty much done already. Let me just clean this up."

"If you think we're pushy, just wait until you meet Tony. He's a handful," said Bucky, causing Steve to laugh. A light hearted sound that caught Natasha by surprise.

Bucky was right. Tony was a handful. Not even a minute into their introduction was he openly throwing innuendos her way while simultaneously making fun of her mysterious presence in the camp. His wife Pepper just laughed from his side, seemingly used to his eccentric ways and still devoted.

Natasha also found herself equally amused, glad that the people there seemed to be able to maintain a sense of humor during such dark times.

Tony's role in the camp was as a weaponry technician, before the outbreak he was a billionaire whose advancements in technology saved lives. Or so that was what he repeatedly told her.

From there she was introduced to Dr. Bruce Banner, the head medic and director of the health department. He seemed to be a very mellow man but both Steve and Bucky assured her that he could hold his own and had previously surprised many with his fighting skills during an attack a few months ago.

Pretty soon Steve and Bucky just became another addition to her daily routine, meeting her and Maria for breakfast and sometimes for dinner when they weren't exhausted from their own duties. When they weren't on runs, they were helping to train the camp members who were willing to learn.

Things carried on in this general manner for two weeks, Natasha finding a home in the camp. A stark contrast to the almost literal hellhole that she lived in with Clint. The members there were manipulative and untrustworthy, an environment she was more than grateful to be away from.

Natasha came to suspect that her peers knew to steer clear of conversations regarding her past, as she wasn't ready to share her faults or involvements from her own history.

She was too ashamed of her mistakes and how these new people who had accepted her almost immediately would view her if they knew the true origins of the skills they so often complimented her on.

It wasn't until one rainy afternoon during a watch that she sobered up to reality, painfully aware that the fairytale she felt she had been living was just that, an unattainable fantasy. She knew she shouldn't be getting close to them, especially in times such as these.

She was moving around the electric fence surrounding the camp, eyes shifting with focus as she walked the perimeter. Despite the lack of zombie threats while she was here, she remained sharp and aware during her watches, not wanting to be responsible for a breach in security.

She continued along her way until she heard a loud shriek behind her at a distance. She grabbed her newly updated gun and turned around quickly, following the source of the shout.

The shriek turned into a full blood curdling scream, "Natasha!"

 _Maria._

Natasha picked up speed. Her head throbbing as déjà vu hit her and her chest started to constrict. This was too similar. Thoughts of Clit began to circle around her head, filling it with worry and almost blurring her vision as she ran through the trees.

She heaved with concern, breath getting caught in her throat until she reached where the scream was coming from. Maria was laying on the ground, next to her were three zombies, each one missing their heads, a clear sign that Maria had to resort to her knife in order to go for the kill.

"What happened?" asked Natasha.

"I'm not sure," gasped Maria. "I was distracted. I didn't hear them coming and then I felt one grab me from behind. My gun backfired so I had to use my knife."

Natasha glanced around at the damage. "Nice job," she said in relief.

"Thanks," Maria sighed.

"I'm glad you're okay," Natasha admitted.

Maria smiled, "Me too," she chuckled softly. "We should let Fury know. This kind of stuff sometimes means that there are more int forest and we should be ready to pack up camp and move if we can't fend them off."

"Okay. We'll head there as soon as the shift's done. Come on."

Natasha helped Maria to her feet, they made their way to the front gates only to meet the worried faces of Sam, Steve and Bucky as they ran out of the underground tunnel to greet them.

"What happened?" Asked Steve. "We heard you yell."

Sam saw the pale face of Maia and instantly ran to her in worry. "Are you alright?" He breathed out.

"We're okay," responded Natasha, Maria nodded as well, brushing off Sam's worry in embarrassment. Natasha almost smiled at their cute behavior. She knew that Sam's worry ran deeper than just a platonic concern.

"There were some zombies form the East that came after Maria but she got them. They were just a surprise."

Steve nodded solemnly at this. "We need to tell Fury."

Before any of them could make a move to do so however, they heard groans coming from the behind them.

They turned around to witness the fast procession of numerous zombies rushing out from behind the trees.

"Oh shit." Said Sam.

"Language," Steve Joked, pulling out his gun and starting to shoot at the approaching crowd.

Natasha also went forward, shooting down the zombies that got in her way.

Eventually she heard Steve curse under her breath as his gun ran out of bullets. His put it back in its holster and pulled out his knife and the silver shield she suddenly noticed he wore on his back.

She watched in amazement as he ran forward and knocked down several zombies with just the brute force of the shield. She then shot the ones that he had knocked aside. He was clearing a path and making it easier for them to attack the zombies caught off guard. She was impressed by his strategy and the effectiveness of it.

They all caught on quickly and from there chaos ensued. Bucky threw a small grenade he pulled from his utility belt, shouting for the team to get out of the way. The explosion lit up the trees and in the late afternoon darkness Natasha saw the crowd of zombies making their way to the camp.

"Watch out!" Shouted Sam, swinging angrily with his knife at two approaching zombies. Maria served as his guard, her eyes scanning around him.

"Everybody get ready!" Shouted Steve. Natasha covered Steve as he ran with his shield again, putting himself in the line of danger in order to take out numerous zombies.

Together they all fought as team, covering each other and killing more zombies. With a racing heart Natasha realized that this was what she was missing, the sense of teamwork. This was something that she hadn't felt since before working with Clint. Even back in the CIA, it was almost always every man for himself in the missions.

When they managed to get all the oncoming zombies, they all stopped to catch their breaths. Their rest was quickly interrupted however by the loud scream of Bucky followed by a gunshot. They turned to see him holding in his right arm, what looked to be his mangled left arm, with a dead zombie lying on the ground next to his feet.

"Bucky?!" Shouted Steve as he rushed towards him. "Oh my god, we need to get him back to Bruce. This is really bad."

"No shit." Stated Maria, whose face was contorted with worry and shock. "What happened?" Asked Maria.

"It bit me." Gasped Bucky, breathing heavy and sweating I pain. I had to pull my arm away and shoot him." He turned to Steve with desperation in his eyes. "You need to chop it off. You know what this means."

"Shhh. Hang on," begged Steve. "We'll take you back to Bruce, he knows what to do."

Bucky was moaning next to Steve as they walked him back to camp. From there they dropped him off at Bruce's lab, hoping that he would be able to help Bucky in some way and relieve the pain.

Natasha watched as Steve let him go in fear.

"He's going to be okay." She blindly reassured.

"But how do you know?" Steve asked shakily. "He's going to lose his arm. I don't know what to do or how to help."

"It could have been worse. We both know that. He's a fighter, he can get through this," she claimed. "And of course you can help. You just need to be there to support him, however this turns out."

Steve relaxed at her reassuring words.

"Thanks Natasha."

Natasha almost squirmed under his kind gaze, his eyes meeting hers with such goodness and honest appreciation. But instead she smiled tightly back to answer, "Any time."

Natasha could tell that Steve wanted to say more as he opened his mouth to speak, but he was silenced by the approach of Sam who greeted them both.

"We need to speak to Fury about this now. His injury affects your runs, we need to find you a new partner," said Sam.

"Alright, let's go," Steve responded.

They made their way to Fury's house and Maria joined them to walk next to Natasha.

"How do you feel?" asked Natasha.

"Honestly, I don't know. That was one of the most violent attacks we've encountered and obviously Bucky's injury is concerning." Answered Maria.

"He'll survive this." Natasha reassured her like she did for Steve.

"I hope you're right." Answered Maria as they entered Fury's house.

Fury was angered by the news of the zombie attack outside of the camp. Rationally, they all knew that attacks like this would be likely, however it was somehow more shocking given that it was Bucky, because he was always such a strong fighter and extremely vital to the camp. They were all just thankful that Bucky would likely survive.

"Given this tragedy, all that we can really do is move forward. From here on out we need to be more aware of our guards and the help they need. I'll make sure to have backup teams ready to go and to have more shifts being run around the camp," Fury stated harshly.

"Should we start training more of the camp members as guards?" asked Steve urgently.

"Right away Rogers. Things are getting more serious and we need people to step it up and play a larger role in our overall survival."

"Yes sir." Said Steve.

"And Rogers, you need a new partner." Stated Fury. "We need to find you someone to replace Barnes until we learn the consequences and capabilities resulting from his arm loss."

Steve looked around briefly, contemplating whether or not anyone in the room was worth considering. Steve's eyes rested on Natasha, he remembered her fighting style and the way she covered for him without being asked, as well as her dedication to the rest of the team.

"What about Natasha?" Asked Steve.

Natasha turned quickly to face Steve, surprise unusually evident on her face.

"Romanoff?" Responded Fury. He looked over to Natasha in silent confirmation about how she felt.

"I wouldn't mind. I've gone on runs before, it isn't something I can't handle," she expressed calmly.

"Alright then. Rogers? Show Romanoff the ropes tomorrow and discuss your strategies for this week's run." He then turned to Sam and Maria to address them. "Wilson, Hill, you're back on guard duty together tomorrow, I'll have Steve get the newly trained Maximoff twins to replace you on your shift with Thor."

They all nodded their heads in acknowledgement before leaving the house.

When they got outside, Steve turned to Natasha with an apology on his lips.

"I'm sorry if my forwardness in there was inappropriate. I just saw you out there today, and your ability to fight, and I was very impressed." He looked down sheepishly and Natasha almost grinned at his continuous shy nature, a complete change from the leader that she saw earlier when facing the zombies.

Natasha slid her mask back on before smiling lightly at him with mischief in her eyes, "You seemed to handle yourself out there pretty well. I was wondering what that metal Frisbee was meant for anyway."

Steve laughed at her obvious avoidance of his praise and flashed her a simple crooked grin. "It's called a shield, but I appreciate your approval. And thanks for having my back out there."

Natasha felt her stomach drop and she blinked to erase the unnecessary feeling. When she turned around to walk away, she glanced over her shoulder to tell him, "I'm flattered Rogers, see you tomorrow."

Steve wasn't sure of which statement she was responding to, but he welcomed it with a warm smile. Natasha Romanoff was full of surprises today.


End file.
